I've been playing Runescape since 2002 and I have seen a lot of scams go down. I even fell for a few when I was a wet behind the ears noob. This guide is directed towards new players and I will point out some common scams that players try as well as some that were tried on me which I found to be hilarious, and hopefully these will help you know when someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes….
Common Scams
Drop Trades
This scam usually starts by someone offering to buy or sell an item for a ridiculous amount of money eg “buying rune 2 hander 100k”.
Someone will see this and trade with the player. The scammer will open the trade screen but decline straight away. Sometimes they will not go to the trade screen at all. This will happen a number of times with the scammer saying something like “game wont let me trade” or “I cant get to trade screen”.
They will private message you to follow them and will walk to a quiet area. They will then say something like “I will drop trade with you, I wont rip you off” and proceed to tell you that they have been scammed before and will never do it to someone else.
As soon as you drop the item they will say something along the lines of “ I cant see it, have you dropped?” and will do this a couple of times before snatching your item and running.
Best advice for this scam is never ever under any circumstance drop trade with anyone…that simple.
Swap Scam
With this scam, the scammer will swap an item or money value for something of a lesser value at the last moment hoping you didn't see it happen or notice any change. Eg 111k can be swapped for 11.1k or a rune weapon for mith or addy.
The scammer will get to the final trade screen and decline, which will end the trade. They will say “oops wrong button..” or something along the lines of that and start the trade over again hoping you will be in a rush this time and not check the trade screens.
Best defence against this scam is always check the final trade screen carefully before accepting.
Password Scams
I always see this scam happening around banks or where large groups of players gather and there are a few variations. 9 times out of 10 an experienced player will not fall for it at all so noobs are the usual targets for this one. The scammer usually private message's you
“Jagex blocks your pass look ********….” An oldy but is still used today. Jagex will not block passwords so don't write yours in the message screen.
“You have won the Runescape lottery, all I need is your pass and user name to deposit the 3 million gp….” Unless there is a real event planned there are no Runescape lotteries run by Jagex staff. This was one of my personal favourites; I thought it was hilarious because the guy tried to tell me he was from Jagex.
When I asked him why he couldn't meet me in the bank and trade he told me he wasn't in the game. I added him to my friends list and the green dot popped up on the map not to far from where I was standing. I walked up next to him and threatened to report him and he logged out pretty quickly.
“Give me your pass and user and I will increase your stats/give you an item/…..” This is crap, no one can increase stats and if someone wanted to give you something for free, that's what the trade screen is for..
Free Armour Trim scam
This scam makes me laugh every time I see it because someone will always fall for it without fail. It is very simple to avoid because NO ONE can trim armour….ever. It is a reward for doing the Treasure Trail on members worlds, not a skill, and noobs always end up with no armour (especially on free to play worlds) wondering what the hell just happened. Don't give your armour to any joker saying he will trim it….it wont happen.
Boyfriend/Girlfriend Scams
Now I've never understood the Boyfriend/Girlfriend aspect of this game…its not like you can hold hands and kiss or anything, so I put it down to being a scam targeted at younger players. This scam takes a little longer to pull off, but you can be left hanging as you see your best item disappear when your boyfriend/girlfriend logs off and out of your life forever….
The scammer usually starts by saying, “looking for a rich bf/gf….”
